copyright
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Nothing Much New in Bratz
There was a recent summary judgment decision in the Mattel v. MGA Entertainment case (otherwise known as Barbie vs. Bratz), but nothing much notable on the ownership front. As it last stood, the Court of Appeals remanded the issue of ownership of the “Bratz” and “Jade” trademarks to the district court. Whether the names should… Continue reading
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Things I Don’t Write About
John Steinbeck and Bob Marley copyright ownership disputes. They are complicated and make my head hurt. Luckily, others take on the task. Eddy Ventose, of the law faculty of the University of the West Indies, has taken on the Bob Marley story. Citation: Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (2010) doi: 10.1093/jiplp/jpq166, first published… Continue reading
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The Things You Need a License For
Yesterday I visited the Penland Gallery, an outstanding craft gallery associated with the Penland School of Crafts. There were several large moving mechanical sculptures that the viewer was invited to activate. Except this one: “PLEASE DO NOT HANDLE. THE ARTIST IS THE ONLY ONE LICENSED TO OPERATE THE BUBBLE MAKER.” There was no commercial bubble… Continue reading
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A Contract Isn’t “Intellectual Property” Just Because You’ve Named It That
Thanks to Bill Bryner at Kilpatrick Stockton for a report on a recent 4th Circuit decision. It’s about copyright and furniture, which leads to discussion of some of the more unusual intellectual property legal theories. I’m interested in the challenge to ownership of the copyright in the furniture designs. In 1994, a predecessor company, Universal… Continue reading
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Numb Nuts
Ok, so the only reason I’m blogging about this case is so I can show the logo for Orange County Choppers (OCC), of “American Choppers” fame. As logos go, it’s one of the best ones out there. Which may explain why there’s a lawsuit revolving around OCC merchandise. It all started in 2003, when OCC… Continue reading
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Copyright Owner, Employee, or Both?
Ashley Gasper has several hats. He is an adult film star using the stage name Jules Jordan. (Not what you think, it’s a USPTO link. Click away.) He is the president and sole shareholder of Jules Jordan Video, Inc. (innocent too – Wikipedia), the creator of the videos in which Gasper stars. He produces,… Continue reading
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Who Owns Facebook?
It’s old news now that a gentleman named Paul Ceglia claims to own 84% of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook web site. Ceglia coughed up a contract that purports to pay Zuckerberg $1000 to write code for a project Ceglia called StreetFax and also to pay Zuckerberg $1000 towards the development of “The Face Book” in exchange… Continue reading
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Tedious Termination Rights
I’ve carefully avoided blogging about copyright termination rights, but only because the cases are so mind-numbing. Luckily, though, Tamera Bennett at the Create Protect Blog isn’t afraid to take the subject on. She’s summarized the 2009 and 2010 Cases of Interest. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States… Continue reading
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